Simultaneous film & DVD release thought...

[filmfreak11]

With the film "Bubble" being pretty much the first movie to simultaneously release the film in theaters & DVD & I think a television broadcast, it got me thinking how this could possibly be more profitable to studios & video stores...

What if after watching a movie in the theater, you have the option to go to the movie theater's video store, present your ticket stub, and be able to purchase the DVD copy of the movie you just watched without any special features. Meaning just the movie itself.

Then a couple months later, video stores have collector's editions with special features of the dvds for purchase. This way, possibly both the theater and video stores could still make profits without hurting each other.

Not sure how video rental would work. Would it be available to rent on the film's theaterical release date or video with special features release date.

I know some movies don't even have special features on their discs whatsoever, but this is just a thought to see what your reactions would be. If this is at all realistically possible.

Keep the standard way how movie are premiered on television.

Oh, yeah. The reason for doing this is to compete with the bootleg DVD copies of films that are still in theaters.

[Mr D]

Movie houses are going to die off, myself I just go only a couple times a year and lately the release of the DVD have been out sooner so I just wait for it. Whats the draw of a theatre anyway? high priced popcorn? rude people on cell phones talking during the movie? getting a seat to have somebodys foot on your backside or a basketball player in front of you? I have my own big screen theatre room, 700 watt dolby sound system PLUS I buy my own popcorn.

And I get to pause, rewind and sit in my underwear.

Either the moviehouse industry comes up with a unique experiance or I will prefer to see any new release in the comforts of my home.

[mikeland]

Forget DVD's ... put films on digital media (like Memory sticks or TransFlash).

[FrumiousBoojum]

Removable media may be coming down in price, but they're still not at the point where getting buying a single movie with the needed 4-8GB of storage would be cheap enough to be worth the price. That may be an option for the future, though.

As for bootlegs, this won't stop it. In fact, it will make it easier. Rip the DVD, copy it, sell for cheaper than the going price. No need to buy a bad bootleg of theatrical releases ever again!

[filmfreak11]

^ Isn't there DVD protection on the discs?

You're not forced to buy expensive snacks at the movies.

The older a picture gets, the less crowded. And weekdays are slower than weeknights and weekends. You just gotta know when to see a movie at the right time.

[thejoshualee]

until I can get a fifty foot screen in my house, I will still go to the movies.

[FrumiousBoojum]

^ Isn't there DVD protection on the discs?

Yes... but there's such a thing as an easy crack, too. It's technically legal to back-up your DVDs, that's why they sell DVD copiers. Some discs need a stronger crack than commercial copiers will do.

And if they make an even stronger, newer protection, I'm sure it'll just be a couple of days before a kid in Norway cracks it.

[Doopey1]

To paraphrase Vince Vaughn, "I like where your head's at". I genuinely like that Iger is looking forward and trying to be on the cutting edge of delivering content thru new technologiy (like the iPod deal). But I'm not completely on board with synchronizing theatrical and DVD releases.

I still think there is something special about seeing a movie in the dark on a big screen with a big crowd where everyone laughs or screams at the same time. For me the problem is that theater owners are deluding themselves into thinking that attendance is down because of cell phones. That's absurd. Attendance is down because ticket prices have skyrocketed over the last ten years, as have concession prices, yet despite this increase they have also increased the number of ads and commercials, and are continuing to do so. Yet I can BUY a DVD new release for less than $20 and watch it at home. or be even lazier and let Netflix send unlimited DVDs to me and I never get off the couch. Theater owners have to make the theater-going experience both unique and affordable. That's why IMAX is doing so well lately. "Polar Express IMAX 3D" was AMAZING, and you can't get that experience at home.

But I do like your idea as some sort of compromise -- you can go buy the DVD, but only AFTER you've seen a movie in the theater. And the theater could be the one to sell the DVD to you on the way out. This idea isn't going away, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[sediment]

Meh. For some movies (and some film distributors and cinema owners (cough -- Mark Cuban -- cough), maybe this will work.

I have not seen a bootleg worth sitting down to watch, much less to purchase. (They were someone else's. The Valley apparently has a bustling market right under Burbank/Hollywood's noses.)

[sediment]

I'd like to see:
1. No more (or fewer) percent of revenue deals with major stars. These are a cause of higher ticket prices, since a theater's fixed costs have to be paid and every dollar of fixed cost means $1.25 in ticket prices (assuming a total of about 25% percent of revenue deals).
2. Theaters start pricing movies based on demand for them. When no one's going to a certain movie (or at certain times of the week), but the rooms are packed for another (or at other times of the week), then pricing them to the demand seems a smart way to maximize revenue (and for me to go cheaply on a Monday afternoon in a near-empty theater). Yeah, it'll be more complicated (a stock-exchange-like ticker might be required, instead of the one-price-fits-all sign).

What I don't understand is why an iPod device is supposed to be the end-all of media. The software on my PC for my iPod is slick, and once I can hook it up to a TV, that would be nice. but my iPod is too small to watch stuff on.
Next up: DLP iPod. The screen unfolds not unlike one of those sun shades for cars.

[Doopey1]

Those are good points. Movie studios have been demanding more of the first weekend cut from theaters, and theaters only see real money if a movie plays well for more than a couple of weekends (increasingly rare these days). Maybe part of the solution is theaters standing up to the studios and saying they won't exhibit films unless they get a more equitable cut of the gross. But obviously they've been losing that argument for several years now (we can almost single-handedly blame George Lucas for this. He famously upped the demands on theater owners when "The Phantom Menace" was released).

Also, I don't think anyone believes that iPods are the end of all media. They are just a new kind of media, and a very popular one at that. People used to have two choices -- movies and radio. That became 3 choices -- movies, radio, and broadcast television. Now people have a gazillion choices, and any successful entertainment company has to be able to maximize the potential for content delivery to every medium that consumers are choosing -- iPods, VOD, Online games, etc. That's one of the cool things I like about Iger, he seems to really be interested in being on the cutting edge of entertainment, not stuck in yesterday's media.

[sediment]

Also, I don't think anyone believes that iPods are the end of all media.

I guess it's just a cool sounding name. But I hear this a lot from the execs: "And you'll be able to download it to your iPod." Why just iPod? Is Jobs that much into your pocket that he's not just looking for keys anymore? (Or is it the other way around?)

[cellarhound]

Sorry to get on this tread so late, I have been moving...

But yeah, I think the move will create a Video store inside theatres, and in essence it could kill video rental places... Imagine a Movie Theatre, Video Rental, Media Store convergance...

I don't think it is going to stop, however the movement of Film content to some form of Digital Downloads... DVD's will at some point become things of the past, as the films will become Flash friendly, and TV's will have USB ports.

Most HD screens can and do double as computer monitors.

But eventually DVD's are on the way out like VHS, Super 8, Beta... Like music has converted to digital files now making CD's (and any type of musical album) on the brink of obsolecant.

It will happen, it is just a matter of time...

[Doopey1]

I agree, eventually DVDs will become obsolete as all technology does, but I do think it will be many years before that happens completely. DVD has really only just reached its saturation point where you can by players for under a hundred bucks and pick up movies in the bargain bin for $9.99.

Everyday consumers aren't going to toss out their DVD collections so quickly. More likely, DVDs will co-exist with downloadable media for a long time and then ever so gradually will just fade out (like audio CDs now. I've always held that if you watch the trends in audio media you'll see what's coming around the bend in video media).

[Soulquarian]

The theatre industry needs to find a way to reinvent itself. They need some type of new element to bring people into the theatres. When T.V.'s and VHS tapes were released, everyone assumed the theater industry would die off, but they're still here thanks to the widescreen format. Another innovative plan like that will get people back in those seats...

I also think there should be stricter rules in place at theaters. There should be some type of security personal in every showing, and they should be cracking down on rude guests...